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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. spell — letters
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. court — for sport
  6. file — a document
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. court — of a king
  9. roll — a list
  10. root — of a word
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. file — a line of people
  17. root — the cause
  18. spell — a short time
  19. file — a tool
  20. root — of a plant
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — magic
  23. shower — to wash
  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