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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: fall · rush · mine · pit · hand · spell · nail · rest

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. fall — the season
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — letters
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spell — magic

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