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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — letters
  3. drill — the tool
  4. scale — in music
  5. staff — a stick
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. spell — magic
  8. staff — employees
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. dip — to sink
  12. scale — size or range
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. spell — a short time
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. drill — army training
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — not warm
  22. drill — a practice
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. scale — for weighing

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