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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spell — letters
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — an illness
  6. face — to confront
  7. scale — in music
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wake — a trail
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pop — soda
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spell — magic
  20. pop — music
  21. swing — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. swing — to play on

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