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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. drill — the tool
  3. firm — a company
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. file — a line of people
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a document
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — steady
  12. land — a country
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a tool
  16. perch — the fish
  17. land — to come down
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. land — ground
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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