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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.

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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. spell — magic
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. snap — to click
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of law
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fork — in a road
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. court — for sport
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. court — of a king

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