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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. spell — magic
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spell — letters
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. season — of the year
  16. shower — rain
  17. club — a group
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rash — a series
  20. dip — to sink
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — a short time
  24. club — for golf

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