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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spell — magic
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. shower — to wash
  13. season — of the year
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spell — letters
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — rain
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pound — a weight
  22. key — in music
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — a short time

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