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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. last — final
  3. spell — letters
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ball — a dance
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bound — tied together
  12. race — humankind
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — to go on
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. ball — a great time
  18. race — a contest
  19. last — finally
  20. bound — certain
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spell — a short time
  23. fork — in a road
  24. race — the arms race

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