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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rash — hasty
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. object — to protest
  15. chip — to eat
  16. object — a thing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. object — an aim
  20. rash — a series
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spell — magic
  24. chip — for betting

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