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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — for sport
  6. craft — boats
  7. spell — magic
  8. mate — to breed
  9. craft — a skill
  10. can — to be able to
  11. court — of law
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — of a king
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. field — for sport
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — farmland
  24. craft — a handicraft

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