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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fork — in a road
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — music
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. foot — a measure

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