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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — all right
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fine — high quality
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — money
  13. craft — boats
  14. saw — the tool
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — a skill
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. object — a thing
  24. snap — to click

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