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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. spell — letters
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — a short time
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — magic
  11. wake — a trail
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. suit — to fit
  15. row — a line
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. race — a contest
  20. suit — in cards
  21. race — the arms race
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pitcher — a jug

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