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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cell — a phone
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cell — in biology
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pound — a weight
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. spell — magic
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spell — a short time
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mark — a trace
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. last — finally
  24. mark — a grade

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