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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. net — in sport
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spell — a short time
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. net — for catching
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. spell — magic
  18. band — a ring
  19. net — after costs
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pit — in a race
  24. band — a music group

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