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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spell — a short time
  8. snap — to click
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lean — thin
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. spell — letters
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spring — of water
  20. lean — to bend
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — temperature
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. spring — the season

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