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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. spell — magic
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. file — a line of people
  6. saw — the tool
  7. current — of water
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. current — electric
  10. file — a document
  11. saw — the tool
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spell — letters
  14. rush — hurry
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — for a lock
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. current — happening now
  24. spell — a short time

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