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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.

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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spell — letters
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — finally
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mate — a partner
  9. last — to go on
  10. cap — a lid
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cue — a signal
  17. last — final
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mate — a friend
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spell — magic

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