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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. file — a document
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. deal — to handle
  5. snap — to click
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — for paper
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. file — a tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rash — a series
  18. spell — a short time
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. face — to confront
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. clip — a video

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