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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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 — letters
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bass — low music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. hand — help
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — a box
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rock — a stone
  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