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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. file — a line of people
  3. lie — to recline
  4. tube — a container
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a tool
  12. kid — child
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tear — to rip
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. file — a document
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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