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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mug — a face
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. can — a tin
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mug — a cup
  12. can — a tin
  13. board — a committee
  14. file — a line of people
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. file — a tool
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. last — final
  24. mate — to breed

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