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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cap — a lid
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. file — a line of people
  11. plane — a tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. file — a document
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. row — a line
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — an aircraft

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