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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: clip · last · spell · rush · rash · hand · roll · bore

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. last — to go on
  3. roll — a list
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. clip — a video
  6. hand — in cards
  7. roll — a cake
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. last — final
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. last — finally
  17. rash — a series
  18. spell — letters
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. hand — help

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