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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. track — to keep track
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. track — a song
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — magic
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. track — a path
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fan — a supporter

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