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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — help
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spell — magic
  8. track — a path
  9. chest — of your body
  10. shower — to wash
  11. track — a song
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. track — to keep track
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kick — in football

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