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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kick — in football
  4. file — a line of people
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — what's left
  7. shower — to wash
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. file — a tool
  12. rest — a break
  13. mate — to breed
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mate — a friend
  16. file — a document
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. fall — to drop

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