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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. shower — to wash
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fine — high quality
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fine — all right
  9. file — a tool
  10. roll — a list
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rash — a series
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rush — hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. roll — a cake
  20. shower — rain
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. file — a document

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