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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tear — to rip
  3. file — a document
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — rain
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. file — a line of people
  8. last — final
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mug — to rob
  11. last — finally
  12. file — a tool
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mug — a cup
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — to wash
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. land — ground
  24. mug — a face

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