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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. spell — magic
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — electric
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spell — letters
  9. capital — money
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — a city
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. drill — a practice
  18. current — happening now
  19. face — to confront
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. current — of water
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. face — part of the head

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