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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. toast — bread
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — a short time
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cold — an illness
  24. toast — the most admired

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