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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — letters
  3. rash — a series
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hand — help
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fine — all right
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. capital — a city
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spell — magic
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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