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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spell — letters
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spell — a short time
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. land — a country
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — to come down
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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