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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: rest · lie · spell · clip · fall · hide · bowl · racket

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spell — letters
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — a short time
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fall — to drop
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spell — magic
  24. rest — what's left

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