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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 124 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a document
  4. shower — rain
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cap — a hat
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. file — a line of people
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cold — not warm
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — after costs
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. toast — bread
  23. net — for catching
  24. dip — to dunk

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