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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · nail · spell · spring · chip · lie · ball · tear

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spring — a coil
  3. chip — to eat
  4. ball — a great time
  5. lie — to recline
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. shower — to wash
  8. spring — of water
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — rain
  11. ball — a dance
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spring — the season
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. chip — for betting

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