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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mark — a trace
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rush — hurry
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mark — a grade
  13. file — a document
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. key — in music
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — to confront
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. face — part of the head
  24. file — a line of people

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