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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rest — what's left
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cue — a hint
  7. field — a subject
  8. rest — a break
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pit — in a race
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. field — farmland
  13. shower — rain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. field — for sport
  16. cue — for pool
  17. shower — to wash
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. file — a document
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cue — a signal
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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