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

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — employees
  6. bank — of a river
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spell — a short time
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — not warm
  12. staff — employees
  13. spell — magic
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bank — for money
  16. staff — a stick
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. shower — rain

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