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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. race — a contest
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cap — a hat
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. race — humankind
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. race — the arms race
  10. foot — a measure
  11. file — a tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. file — a document
  17. cap — of ice
  18. lean — to bend
  19. shower — rain
  20. lean — thin
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bear — the animal
  23. file — a line of people
  24. lean — to rest against

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