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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. snap — to click
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rock — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. present — there
  9. capital — money
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. present — a gift
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. present — the time now
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a horse colour

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