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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. present — a gift
  5. rash — a series
  6. vault — a safe
  7. present — the time now
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — letters
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cap — a hat
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — hasty
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tear — from crying
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. present — there
  24. bat — the animal

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