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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. chair — a leader
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. net — for catching
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. net — after costs
  8. spell — letters
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — magic
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. swing — in golf
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. swing — music
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. sharp — with an edge

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