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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. firm — steady
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. firm — a company
  9. rash — hasty
  10. row — a line
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rash — a series
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spell — letters
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — an illness
  24. firm — decided

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