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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — help
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — thin
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — a video
  9. object — to protest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — for paper
  12. object — a thing
  13. cap — a hat
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. lean — to bend
  19. object — an aim
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spell — letters

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