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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. current — electric
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bear — the animal
  9. current — of water
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. kick — in football
  14. fine — all right
  15. file — a tool
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. file — a document
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — finally
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — to wash

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