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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bank — of a river
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — child
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. lean — thin
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bank — for money
  18. net — for catching
  19. lean — to bend
  20. net — after costs
  21. spell — a short time
  22. net — in sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bank — for 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