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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rest — what's left
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bulb — for light
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spell — magic
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — help
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rest — a break
  24. bulb — of a plant

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