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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — the month
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. file — a document
  13. track — a song
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — a coil
  16. track — a path
  17. march — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. spring — of water
  20. march — the month
  21. can — a tin
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. spring — the season

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