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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a music group
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. cap — of ice
  9. club — a group
  10. perch — the fish
  11. club — for golf
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. shower — rain
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. band — a ring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. file — a document
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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