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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — letters
  4. drill — a practice
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — to wash
  7. key — the most important part
  8. charge — in control
  9. key — for a lock
  10. spell — magic
  11. charge — a price
  12. squash — the sport
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. charge — electricity
  17. key — in music
  18. last — finally
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — to crush
  24. last — final

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