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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. file — a line of people
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. file — a tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rest — what's left
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. land — a country
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rest — a break
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. dip — to sink
  24. file — a document

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