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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ball — a dance
  8. craft — a skill
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a document
  11. prune — to trim
  12. shower — rain
  13. fall — to drop
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a line of people
  18. tube — a container
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fall — the season
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rock — a stone
  24. craft — a handicraft

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