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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. spell — magic
  3. wake — a trail
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — to rip
  6. snap — to click
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. vault — a safe
  12. press — to push
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. spell — letters
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tear — from crying
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. press — a publisher
  22. hand — in cards
  23. press — newspapers
  24. file — a line of people

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