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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spell — magic
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. branch — a division
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mug — a face
  8. spell — a short time
  9. rush — hurry
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spell — letters
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cell — in biology
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cell — a phone
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. mug — to rob

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