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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. spell — magic
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. staff — employees
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. spell — letters
  12. staff — employees
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. staff — a stick
  17. capital — a city
  18. dip — to sink
  19. last — final
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. last — finally
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rush — hurry

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