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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wind — moving air
  6. shower — to wash
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wake — a trail
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. shower — rain
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. mouse — the animal

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