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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — to tease
  5. sharp — clever
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — a video
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — to cut
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. spell — magic
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rush — hurry
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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