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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. spell — magic
  3. cap — a lid
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. cap — of ice
  7. scale — size or range
  8. deal — to handle
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cap — a hat
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. spell — letters
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. scale — in music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — a partner
  23. spell — a short time
  24. hand — in cards

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