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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bulb — for light
  6. saw — the tool
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. stem — to come from
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spell — magic
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. leaves — of a tree

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