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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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Word bank
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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. row — a line
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spell — a short time
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wound — an injury
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spell — letters
  24. temple — side of the head

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