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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. file — a line of people
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. swing — music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — ground
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bear — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — a country
  16. file — a document
  17. bear — the animal
  18. land — to come down

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