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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. object — to protest
  3. shower — to wash
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. object — an aim
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. sharp — clever
  15. file — a document
  16. lean — thin
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. root — of a word
  19. object — a thing
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. root — the cause
  22. file — a line of people
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. shower — rain

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