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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. shower — rain
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. file — a tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. track — a song
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. staff — a stick
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — to wash

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