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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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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. spell — magic
  7. face — to confront
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wind — moving air
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bass — low music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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