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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — letters
  4. bound — obliged
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bound — certain
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fall — the season
  16. rule — government
  17. tube — a container
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rule — a law
  24. tube — the underground

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