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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pop — music
  4. file — a document
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chest — a box
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pop — soda
  16. mate — a friend
  17. file — a line of people
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rash — a series
  22. shower — rain
  23. mate — a partner
  24. chest — of your body

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