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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fall — the season
  5. shower — rain
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — a path
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. cell — a phone
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. track — a song
  20. lie — to recline
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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