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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. spring — the season
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. root — of a plant
  18. shower — rain
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — of water
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. file — a document
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. file — a line of people

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