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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. root — the cause
  3. spell — letters
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. root — of a word
  20. stand — to bear
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wound — an injury

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