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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — the earth
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cap — a lid
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. track — to keep track
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — soda
  18. ground — a position
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cap — a hat
  22. track — a path
  23. pop — music
  24. cap — of ice

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