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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. rash — a series
  10. file — a document
  11. rash — hasty
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mine — belonging to me

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