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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spell — magic
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. club — for golf
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. club — for dancing
  7. track — to keep track
  8. season — of the year
  9. track — a path
  10. row — a line
  11. spell — a short time
  12. row — to paddle
  13. club — a group
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. file — a tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. file — a document
  19. spell — letters
  20. file — a line of people
  21. track — a song
  22. season — in sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. season — to add flavour

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