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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. net — after costs
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — happy
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. net — for catching
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fall — the season
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. net — in sport
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bass — low music

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