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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.

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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. capital — a city
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cold — not warm
  12. sharp — clever
  13. spell — letters
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fan — a supporter

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