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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 120 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lean — thin
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chest — a box
  8. last — to go on
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. shower — rain
  11. key — for a lock
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. key — the most important part
  16. spell — magic
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. last — finally
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — the season
  22. spell — letters
  23. key — in music
  24. last — final

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