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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mate — to breed
  3. date — the fruit
  4. dip — to sink
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spell — a short time
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. spell — letters
  10. rule — a law
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rule — government
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mate — a partner
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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