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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. spell — magic
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. scale — in music
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. object — to protest
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. file — a tool
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. file — a line of people
  18. object — a thing
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a document
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. object — an aim

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