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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. spell — magic
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wake — a trail
  12. stock — shares
  13. pit — in a race
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stock — goods

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