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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: hand · cap · wound · spell · rest · track · rash · lie

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cap — a lid
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rest — what's left
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. hand — help
  20. rash — hasty
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rash — a series
  24. rest — a break

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