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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rush — hurry
  7. march — music
  8. kid — child
  9. spell — a short time
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. spell — magic
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. march — the month
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. spring — of water
  21. plane — a tool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. branch — a division
  24. lie — an untruth

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