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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. scale — size or range
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. spell — magic
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. toast — bread
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spell — letters
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. scale — in music
  24. plane — a 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