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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. The water is too ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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. cold — not warm
  4. file — a tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a document
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fine — all right
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — letters
  21. court — for sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. court — of a king

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