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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — farmland
  4. perch — the fish
  5. spell — letters
  6. ball — a great time
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lean — thin
  10. plane — a tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. field — a subject
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. lean — to bend

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