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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. spell — letters
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bat — the animal
  8. drill — army training
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. spell — magic
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — a trail
  15. drill — a practice
  16. file — a document
  17. spell — a short time
  18. deal — to handle
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rash — a series
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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