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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chest — of your body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. shower — rain
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mark — a grade
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. sharp — clever
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. perch — the fish
  24. chest — a box

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