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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — a short time
  3. swing — in golf
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — a price
  6. wake — a trail
  7. spell — magic
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. dip — to sink
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spell — letters
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. swing — to play on
  24. charge — in control

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