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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spell — letters
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — a subject
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fall — the season
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. roll — a cake
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. roll — a list
  22. rash — a series
  23. spell — a short time
  24. fall — to drop

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