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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. file — a document
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spell — letters
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spell — a short time
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. file — a tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. tear — to rip
  15. file — a line of people
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range

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