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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spell — a short time
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. row — a line
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. season — of the year
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rash — a series
  16. spell — letters
  17. row — to paddle
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. trunk — of a car

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