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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. drill — army training
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — music
  10. net — for catching
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. row — a line
  13. net — in sport
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. net — after costs
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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