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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. file — a line of people
  4. saw — the tool
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. file — a document
  7. saw — the tool
  8. sharp — clever
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. row — to paddle
  11. shower — rain
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a tool
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. row — a line
  18. bore — to tire

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