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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. tear — from crying
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. fall — to drop
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — a short time
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. shower — rain
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. tear — from crying
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. foot — a measure
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fall — the season

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