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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spell — a short time
  4. toast — bread
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — crushed
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. ground — a position
  9. spell — magic
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wound — an injury
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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