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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. march — the month
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. file — a tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. file — a document
  10. shower — to wash
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. drill — army training
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — the tool
  20. march — the month
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. drill — a practice
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. march — music

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