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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. spell — letters
  3. rule — government
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. net — in sport
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. net — after costs
  17. march — music
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rule — a law
  20. net — for catching
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. march — the month
  24. spell — magic

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