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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. court — of law
  3. rash — a series
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. file — a line of people
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — magic
  12. file — a document
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. court — of a king
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. court — for sport
  19. row — a line
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rash — hasty
  23. shower — rain
  24. row — to paddle

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