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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. shower — to wash
  12. face — part of the head
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stand — to bear
  18. face — to confront
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a document
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a line of people

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