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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. snap — to click
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bore — to tire
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spell — magic
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. file — a document
  9. scale — in music
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rule — government
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. court — of law
  18. file — a tool
  19. spell — letters
  20. court — of a king
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rule — a law
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a line of people

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