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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. present — the time now
  3. rest — a break
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rest — what's left
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. present — there
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — a short time
  19. race — humankind
  20. squash — to crush
  21. field — a subject
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. present — a gift

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