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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 120 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 · shower · game · dip · bay · staff · trunk · row

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. shower — rain
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. shower — to wash
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — employees
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spell — letters
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. spell — a short time
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. row — a line
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. staff — employees
  24. row — to paddle

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