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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — an injury
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — to drop
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. fall — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — letters
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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