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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pound — a weight
  6. current — electric
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spring — of water
  15. last — final
  16. current — happening now
  17. field — for sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. last — finally
  20. field — a subject
  21. current — of water
  22. field — farmland
  23. last — to go on
  24. fork — a garden tool

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