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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spell — letters
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — music

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