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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. spell — letters
  3. present — a gift
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bank — of a river
  7. ground — a position
  8. bank — for money
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spell — magic
  11. present — the time now
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. staff — employees
  16. spell — a short time
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. staff — employees
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mine — for digging
  21. present — there
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bank — for money
  24. shower — rain

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