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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 120 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.

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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bass — low music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spell — magic
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty

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