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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. game — a match
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kid — child
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — wild animals
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spell — letters
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lean — thin
  24. bowl — a dish

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