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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 120 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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. face — to confront
  6. rest — what's left
  7. file — a document
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — a country
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. land — ground
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rest — a break
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. file — a tool
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. land — to come down

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