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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. file — a tool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. spring — the season
  5. shower — rain
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a document
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rash — a series
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. file — a line of people
  16. craft — boats
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — of water
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. spring — a coil
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. rash — on the skin

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