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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fine — all right
  3. file — a tool
  4. track — a song
  5. root — the cause
  6. staff — employees
  7. track — to keep track
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fine — high quality
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. staff — employees
  13. present — the time now
  14. chest — of your body
  15. root — of a word
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — a gift
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. staff — a stick
  21. root — of a plant
  22. present — there
  23. file — a document
  24. track — a path

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