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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — the fish
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fall — to drop
  7. branch — a division
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. spell — a short time
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — help
  17. net — in sport
  18. fall — the season
  19. spell — letters
  20. net — after costs
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — for catching

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