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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spell — magic
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bound — obliged
  7. court — for sport
  8. bound — certain
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mark — a trace
  18. spell — a short time
  19. court — of law
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bound — tied together
  24. court — of a king

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