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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.

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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bat — the animal
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — child
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — a match
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. spell — magic
  24. kid — to tease

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