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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mug — a cup
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mug — to rob
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spell — letters
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. mug — a face
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. row — a line
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rash — a series

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