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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. hand — help
  5. toast — bread
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. branch — a division
  9. ground — crushed
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. spell — a short time
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — a container
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — letters
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tube — the underground

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