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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 120 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. spell — magic
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. last — to go on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. hand — help
  14. fine — high quality
  15. game — a match
  16. fine — all right
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. last — finally
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — final
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ruler — for measuring

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