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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. march — the month
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. last — to go on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — what's left
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. march — the month
  14. last — final
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — magic
  20. march — music
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. last — finally

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