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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hand — in cards
  4. march — music
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lean — thin
  7. ball — a dance
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rock — music
  10. spell — magic
  11. wind — moving air
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. drill — army training
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — help
  17. spell — a short time
  18. march — the month
  19. spell — letters
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. ball — a great time
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wind — moving air

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