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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — a series
  3. spell — magic
  4. press — to push
  5. mate — a partner
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — a country
  17. press — a publisher
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. press — newspapers
  20. tear — to rip
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mate — to breed

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