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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a document
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. tube — the underground
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. file — a line of people
  11. shower — rain
  12. land — ground
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. land — a country
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. land — to come down
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a tool
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tube — a container
  24. shower — to wash

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