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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. mate — a partner
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mug — to rob
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kid — child
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mate — a friend
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. season — of the year
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mug — a cup
  19. kid — to tease
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. mug — a face
  24. file — a tool

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