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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. file — a line of people
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. foot — a measure
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a document
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spell — a short time
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ball — a great time
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ball — a dance
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — all right
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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