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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. tear — to rip
  3. charge — in control
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — from crying
  7. charge — electricity
  8. shower — rain
  9. charge — a price
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. last — final
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. last — finally
  14. dip — to sink
  15. last — to go on
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. spell — magic
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bay — a horse colour

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