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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fall — the season
  9. net — in sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. net — after costs
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. clip — a video
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. net — for catching
  24. rest — what's left

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