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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chip — to eat
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. spell — letters
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. drill — the tool
  15. plane — a tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. shower — rain
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chip — for betting
  24. drill — a practice

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