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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hand — in cards
  4. spell — letters
  5. drill — army training
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rash — a series
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — music
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fine — all right
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. spell — a short time
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spring — of water
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. drill — the tool

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