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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. spell — letters
  6. last — to go on
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. present — there
  10. dip — to sink
  11. present — a gift
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. last — finally
  14. saw — the tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. season — in sport
  18. plane — a tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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