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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. saw — the tool
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rock — a stone
  9. vault — a safe
  10. dip — to sink
  11. clip — a video
  12. squash — the sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — for paper
  19. field — farmland
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spell — magic
  22. squash — to crush
  23. field — a subject
  24. rock — music

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