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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rash — a series
  3. spell — a short time
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mug — a cup
  9. spell — letters
  10. mug — to rob
  11. field — a subject
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — farmland
  14. fall — the season
  15. field — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mug — a face
  19. rash — hasty
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wake — a trail

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