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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mug — a face
  3. file — a tool
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. mug — a cup
  11. squash — to crush
  12. scale — in music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — to rip
  18. scale — size or range
  19. file — a document
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fine — all right
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fine — high quality

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