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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. last — final
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — to go on
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. rock — music
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. tear — to rip
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. rock — a stone
  20. chest — a box
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mine — for digging

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