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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 · fan · chest · sharp · jam · wake · row · last

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spell — magic
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chest — of your body
  12. row — a line
  13. chest — of your body
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. last — finally
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spell — letters
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. last — final
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — to go on

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