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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 116 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. file — a document
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — rain
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. file — a tool
  18. mine — for digging

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