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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — letters
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. suit — clothes
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ball — a dance
  16. suit — to fit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. shower — to wash
  19. suit — in cards
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. file — a document

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