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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — final
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rock — music
  10. stand — to bear
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rock — a stone
  15. last — to go on
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cold — an illness
  24. spell — letters

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