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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. march — the month
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. shower — rain
  13. object — an aim
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. object — a thing
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. march — music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. object — to protest
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cap — a lid
  24. march — the month

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