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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. march — music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spell — magic
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bank — for money
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. snap — to click
  19. march — the month
  20. bank — of a river
  21. pass — a permit
  22. march — the month
  23. rash — a series
  24. sharp — clever

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