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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — for golf
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. file — a tool
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. drill — a practice
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. file — a line of people
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. drill — army training

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