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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cap — a hat
  4. present — there
  5. cap — a lid
  6. track — a path
  7. pop — music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pop — to visit
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. track — a song
  22. present — the time now
  23. track — to keep track
  24. present — a gift

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