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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. last — finally
  3. spell — magic
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — final
  8. clip — for paper
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — a company
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. firm — steady
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spell — a short time
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. drill — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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