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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. mug — a face
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mark — a grade
  16. season — in sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chest — a box
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chest — of your body
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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