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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. file — a document
  5. staff — a stick
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. file — a line of people
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. staff — employees
  14. cell — in biology
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. row — to paddle

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