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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. spell — magic
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spell — letters
  7. row — a line
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kick — in football
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. coach — a trainer

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