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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. spell — a short time
  5. last — final
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spell — magic
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — music
  13. last — to go on
  14. field — for sport
  15. deal — to handle
  16. last — finally
  17. craft — boats
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. field — farmland
  20. rash — hasty
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pop — soda
  24. rash — a series

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