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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. plane — a tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. squash — to crush
  5. drill — army training
  6. shower — to wash
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. file — a document
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. drill — the tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. drill — a practice
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. plane — an aircraft

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