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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spell — magic
  5. root — the cause
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bat — the animal
  8. last — finally
  9. root — of a plant
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — final
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — to go on
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. root — of a word
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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