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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — finally
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. last — to go on
  6. foot — a measure
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bulb — for light
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. last — final
  20. kick — in football
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spell — magic
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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