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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. spell — letters
  3. roll — a cake
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. roll — a list
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. spell — magic
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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