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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a ring
  7. file — a tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. craft — a skill
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. track — a song
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pound — a weight
  17. track — to keep track
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. file — a document
  21. chair — a leader
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. track — a path
  24. chair — a professorship

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