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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cold — not warm
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. shower — rain
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. season — in sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a document
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. file — a tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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