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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. net — after costs
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. net — in sport
  10. cue — for pool
  11. file — a document
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cue — a signal
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cue — a hint
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. craft — a skill
  21. shower — rain
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. file — a tool
  24. net — for catching

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