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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. net — in sport
  3. spell — magic
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. board — to get on
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. hand — help
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. net — after costs
  20. board — a committee
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tube — a container
  24. kid — to tease

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