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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. kid — child
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tube — a container
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — help
  16. spell — letters
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tube — the underground
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kid — to tease
  24. coach — a trainer

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