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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 120 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. row — a line
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. rock — music
  9. shower — rain
  10. file — a tool
  11. rock — a stone
  12. land — ground
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a document
  19. land — to come down
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. land — a country
  22. stock — shares
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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