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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — rain
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spell — letters
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mine — for digging
  24. staff — employees

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