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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. shower — to wash
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. root — the cause
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. track — a path
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. chip — to eat
  16. spell — letters
  17. root — of a word
  18. shower — rain
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chip — for betting
  21. track — to keep track
  22. spell — a short time
  23. track — a song
  24. wound — an injury

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