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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. file — a tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. branch — a division
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. pitch — completely
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mate — a partner
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mate — a friend
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. mate — to breed
  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