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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. object — an aim
  8. spell — letters
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. cold — not warm

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