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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rash — a series
  6. mug — to rob
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. mug — a cup
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — hasty
  16. spell — magic
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mug — a face
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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