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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. board — to get on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. spell — letters
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. board — a committee
  17. object — a thing
  18. court — of a king
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — to protest
  24. spell — a short time

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