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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cap — a hat
  4. deal — to handle
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. shower — rain
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chair — a leader
  16. file — a document
  17. cap — a lid
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cap — of ice
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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