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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ground — a position
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a line of people
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — a trail
  9. ground — the earth
  10. squash — to crush
  11. ground — crushed
  12. squash — the sport
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. file — a document
  17. spell — magic
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. spell — a short time
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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