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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. drill — army training
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. last — finally
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spell — a short time
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — to go on
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to click
  21. last — final
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hide — animal skin

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