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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — magic
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wind — moving air
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. spell — letters
  21. rash — a series
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wake — before a funeral

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