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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. spell — a short time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. hand — in cards
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mate — to breed
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. branch — a division
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wave — of the sea

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