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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — a short time
  6. suit — clothes
  7. ball — a dance
  8. suit — in cards
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — letters
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a great time
  14. present — there
  15. spell — magic
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — a box
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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