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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to confront
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. spell — a short time
  11. face — part of the head
  12. kick — in football
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. face — to point toward
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lash — a whip stroke

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com