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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spell — letters
  3. present — the time now
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. present — a gift
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — a match
  16. spell — magic
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spell — a short time
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. present — there
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cap — a hat

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