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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — a cup
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. row — to paddle
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. shower — rain
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. temple — side of the head

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