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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. file — a tool
  3. dip — to sink
  4. present — the time now
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — a position
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pass — a permit
  13. present — there
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. shower — rain
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a document
  23. present — a gift
  24. file — a line of people

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