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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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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — magic
  4. file — a document
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. fall — the season
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spell — a short time
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. saw — the tool
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. file — a line of people
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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