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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. file — a tool
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rock — music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. file — a document
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. shower — rain
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rock — a stone
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. arm — part of the body

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