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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. net — for catching
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. ball — a great time
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. board — to get on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. board — a committee
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. net — in sport
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — after costs
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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