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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spell — letters
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. game — wild animals
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. game — a match
  15. deal — to handle
  16. press — to push
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — a short time
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — a publisher
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. press — newspapers
  24. perch — the fish

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