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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 120 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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. suit — in cards
  4. spell — magic
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — a short time
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mate — a partner
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. spring — the season
  19. ground — a position
  20. mate — a friend
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. suit — clothes
  24. spring — a coil

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