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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — a phone
  4. season — of the year
  5. spell — magic
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. spell — letters
  9. plane — a tool
  10. season — in sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. board — a committee
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — a short time
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — in cards
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cell — in a prison

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