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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · wound · dip · field · cabinet · pop · fall · present

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. spell — letters
  3. fall — to drop
  4. present — a gift
  5. pop — music
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. fall — the season
  13. field — farmland
  14. pop — soda
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. present — the time now
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. present — there
  24. pop — to visit

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