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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: net · tear · wave · key · wound · shower · toast · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. net — for catching
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — an injury
  8. toast — bread
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. shower — rain
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. spell — a short time
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tear — to rip
  19. key — in music
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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