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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. can — a tin
  6. ball — a great time
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — army training
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mine — for digging
  11. present — the time now
  12. bat — the animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spell — magic
  15. drill — a practice
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hand — help
  19. drill — the tool
  20. can — to be able to
  21. present — there
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. present — a gift
  24. hand — in cards

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