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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 116 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — magic
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ground — the earth
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rest — what's left
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — a position
  16. rest — a break
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kick — in football
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. sharp — clever
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ball — a dance
  24. spell — a short time

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