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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. lean — thin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lean — to bend
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — for baseball

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