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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · spell · toast · field · rule · snap · face · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. toast — bread
  3. rule — a law
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. face — to confront
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — government
  9. spell — letters
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. face — part of the head
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. field — farmland
  16. snap — to click
  17. spell — a short time
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. ball — a dance
  21. field — a subject
  22. ball — a great time
  23. field — for sport
  24. toast — the most admired

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