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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. file — a document
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bulb — for light
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bulb — for light
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a line of people
  19. key — in music
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. key — the most important part
  24. shower — rain

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