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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. file — a document
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rush — hurry
  6. staff — employees
  7. season — of the year
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. season — in sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — rain
  16. file — a line of people
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rush — a thrill

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