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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — magic
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — letters
  10. tube — the underground
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — a series
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — a container
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wave — of the sea

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