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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. saw — the tool
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. staff — employees
  11. deal — to handle
  12. land — to come down
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. spell — a short time
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spell — magic

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