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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. row — a line
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spell — a short time
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spell — letters
  13. hand — in cards
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. row — to paddle
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stem — to come from
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ground — a position
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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