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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. spell — magic
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. kid — child
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cap — of ice
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chair — a leader
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bass — low music
  22. spell — letters
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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