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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spell — magic
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. track — a path
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rest — a break
  19. kick — in football
  20. spell — letters
  21. track — a song
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rash — a series

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