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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wound — an injury
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spell — magic
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cap — of ice
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cap — a hat
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bark — to shout
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. squash — the sport
  21. snap — to click
  22. game — a match
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rock — a stone

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