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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: racket · cold · lean · wake · calf · spell · toast · march

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spell — letters
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — an illness
  8. toast — bread
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lean — to bend
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spell — a short time
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. lean — thin
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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