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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. file — a tool
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. root — of a word
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. root — the cause
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. root — of a plant
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. shower — rain
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. shower — to wash

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