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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mark — a trace
  5. last — finally
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. mark — a grade
  13. shower — to wash
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bat — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. last — final
  19. shower — rain
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — to go on
  23. file — a document
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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