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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. mug — to rob
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mug — a face
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chest — a box
  13. spell — letters
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — an illness
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bowl — a dish

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