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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spell — magic
  4. bark — to shout
  5. swing — music
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitch — completely
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pit — a hole
  22. fall — to drop
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. lean — thin

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