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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. pitch — completely
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rock — a stone
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fork — in a road
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rock — music
  24. rest — a break

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