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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spell — letters
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. game — a match
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — a video
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rash — a series
  24. lie — to recline

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