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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spell — letters
  3. rule — a law
  4. firm — decided
  5. shower — to wash
  6. firm — steady
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. shower — rain
  11. firm — a company
  12. file — a tool
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. file — a document
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pop — music
  19. rule — government
  20. spell — magic
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pop — soda

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