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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — a series
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. squash — the sport
  9. spell — magic
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rash — hasty
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mine — for digging
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. charge — a price
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. charge — electricity
  23. saw — the tool
  24. charge — in control

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