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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — magic
  3. swing — in golf
  4. present — a gift
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. last — finally
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — letters
  11. present — there
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. present — the time now
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cap — a lid
  18. swing — to play on
  19. game — a match
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. cap — of ice

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