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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — a match
  6. fine — all right
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chest — a box
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fine — high quality
  14. shower — to wash
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chest — of your body
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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