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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. drill — army training
  5. swing — to play on
  6. spell — magic
  7. swing — music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spell — a short time
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. swing — in golf
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a line of people
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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