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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. hand — help
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a path
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. file — a document
  17. pass — a permit
  18. track — to keep track
  19. file — a line of people
  20. squash — the sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. file — a tool
  24. spell — letters

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