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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. current — happening now
  6. key — in music
  7. spell — a short time
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ground — a position
  10. current — electric
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spell — magic
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — the earth
  17. spell — letters
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — of water
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. hand — part of the body

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