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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. shower — rain
  4. can — a tin
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. shower — to wash
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. staff — employees
  12. spell — a short time
  13. can — a tin
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spell — magic
  17. clip — a video
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. staff — employees
  22. clip — to cut
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spell — letters

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