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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ball — a great time
  3. row — to paddle
  4. march — the month
  5. spell — a short time
  6. march — music
  7. ball — a dance
  8. hand — in cards
  9. swing — in golf
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. tube — a container
  18. spell — magic
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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