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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wake — a trail
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. ground — a position
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. staff — a stick
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — boats
  12. row — a line
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. capital — money
  18. staff — employees
  19. ground — the earth
  20. staff — employees
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. craft — a skill
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — before a funeral

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