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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 124 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. file — a tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bank — of a river
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bank — for money
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. file — a line of people
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bank — for money
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — in football
  24. wound — an injury

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