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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. file — a document
  2. rash — hasty
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cap — a lid
  7. spell — letters
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cap — a hat
  10. spell — magic
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stock — goods
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. file — a tool
  16. rash — a series
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stock — shares
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. shower — rain
  23. stock — a soup base
  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