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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 116 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. kid — child
  4. present — there
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. file — a line of people
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. wind — moving air
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wake — a trail
  13. shower — rain
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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