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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 124 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. row — a line
  3. mate — to breed
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. capital — money
  6. spell — letters
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — rain
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — a city
  15. mark — a trace
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mate — a friend
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pop — soda
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mark — a grade

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