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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rash — hasty
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — to visit
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pop — soda
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bound — tied together
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. file — a tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bound — certain
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rash — a series
  18. file — a document
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rock — music
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — obliged
  24. pop — music

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