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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. capital — money
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rest — a break
  6. club — a group
  7. capital — a city
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. club — for golf
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — what's left
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rest — what's left

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