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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — finally
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lie — to recline
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. squash — the sport
  11. land — a country
  12. spell — letters
  13. squash — to crush
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — ground
  16. rash — a series
  17. last — final
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — to come down
  24. lie — an untruth

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