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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 120 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pop — music
  5. cue — for pool
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cue — a hint
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cue — a signal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — of the year
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pop — soda
  23. spell — a short time
  24. fork — to eat with

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