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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ball — a dance
  7. hand — help
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stock — shares
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ground — a position
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. spell — a short time
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stock — goods
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spell — magic
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. drill — army training

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