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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rest — a break
  3. spell — a short time
  4. can — to be able to
  5. rest — what's left
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. perch — the fish
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — for digging
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. can — a tin
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — what's left
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. capital — money
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. can — a tin
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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