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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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. cap — a lid
  4. track — to keep track
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cap — a hat
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. track — a song
  10. spell — magic
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. track — a path
  23. dip — to sink
  24. row — to paddle

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