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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — to keep track
  4. net — in sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. net — for catching
  9. kick — in football
  10. track — a song
  11. spell — magic
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — of your body
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spell — a short time
  16. net — after costs
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. row — a line
  20. track — a path
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — a box
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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