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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hand — in cards
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rash — a series
  6. lie — to recline
  7. present — the time now
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. hand — help
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. spell — letters
  19. present — a gift
  20. spell — a short time
  21. saw — the tool
  22. present — there
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — part of the body

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