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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. file — a document
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a line of people
  5. land — a country
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a tool
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. last — final
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. land — ground
  12. shower — rain
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. drill — army training
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. drill — a practice
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — finally
  23. drill — the tool
  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