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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. present — there
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a document
  5. swing — to play on
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fall — the season
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. file — a tool
  11. lean — to bend
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — in sport
  14. present — the time now
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. shower — to wash
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lean — thin
  23. swing — music
  24. present — a gift

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