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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chest — of your body
  4. shower — rain
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rest — a break
  7. mug — to rob
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to click
  10. mug — a face
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — the season
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. object — an aim
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. file — a tool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a document
  21. object — a thing
  22. mug — a cup
  23. object — to protest
  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