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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spring — the season
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spell — magic
  9. ground — a position
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spring — of water
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — to drill
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spell — letters

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