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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rest — a break
  3. bank — of a river
  4. spell — magic
  5. mate — a partner
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mate — to breed
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bank — for money
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hand — help
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spell — letters
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bank — for money

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