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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — magic
  6. date — the fruit
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. track — to keep track
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bass — low music
  16. track — a song
  17. spell — letters
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. track — a path
  24. wind — moving air

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