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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fine — all right
  3. clip — a video
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fine — high quality
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. drill — army training
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. drill — a practice
  16. spell — letters
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. shower — to wash
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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