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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. spell — letters
  5. rule — government
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. stem — to come from
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spell — a short time
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mine — for digging
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. row — a line
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rush — hurry
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. mine — an explosive

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