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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. mark — a trace
  5. swing — music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bear — the animal
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mark — a grade
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. hand — part of the body

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