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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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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: trunk · bay · deal · wind · spell · lie · march · ground

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. spell — letters
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. spell — a short time
  13. march — music
  14. lie — to recline
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. march — the month
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. spell — magic
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — crushed
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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