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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. spring — the season
  6. row — a line
  7. net — in sport
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pass — a permit
  11. spring — of water
  12. rule — a law
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. net — for catching
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. spell — magic
  18. rule — government
  19. row — to paddle
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spell — a short time
  23. net — after costs
  24. lash — an eyelash

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