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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. file — a line of people
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bound — tied together
  8. game — wild animals
  9. file — a tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a document
  14. game — a match
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bound — certain

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