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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — magic
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. snap — to click
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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