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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pop — soda
  5. lie — to recline
  6. pop — music
  7. chest — a box
  8. object — to protest
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. object — a thing
  11. spell — magic
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. object — an aim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cell — a phone
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — for digging

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