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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spell — magic
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. face — to confront
  7. row — to paddle
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. spring — of water
  10. snap — to click
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. spell — letters
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. spring — the season
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — a line
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spell — a short time
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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