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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 116 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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. shower — to wash
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lie — to recline
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. file — a document
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fall — the season
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — rain
  19. file — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hand — help
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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