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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. key — in music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — in cards
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. race — a contest
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — clever
  15. key — the most important part
  16. spell — a short time
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. spell — letters
  21. key — for a lock
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. fall — the season
  24. wound — an injury

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