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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — help
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spell — magic
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. drill — army training
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pop — to visit
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mate — a friend
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. pop — soda
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fork — in a road
  23. clip — for paper
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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