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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. swing — to play on
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rule — a law
  7. swing — music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — money
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. rule — government
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spell — magic
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a city
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. hide — to keep secret

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