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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. branch — a division
  3. field — farmland
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — a subject
  10. spell — a short time
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. scale — in music
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — in cards
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. snap — to click
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. field — for sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rock — a stone

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