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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — to shout
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. capital — a city
  8. file — a tool
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. file — a document
  11. rush — hurry
  12. dip — to sink
  13. spell — letters
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. shower — rain
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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