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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. spell — magic
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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