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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bat — the animal
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. board — to get on
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — for paper
  15. board — a committee
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. clip — a video
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spell — letters
  24. cabinet — ministers

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