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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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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. press — to push
  6. wake — a trail
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. press — newspapers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. stock — goods
  19. spell — magic
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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