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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a document
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. track — a song
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rest — what's left
  12. toast — bread
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. staff — employees
  16. rest — what's left
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rest — a break
  21. file — a tool
  22. cap — a lid
  23. staff — a stick
  24. shower — rain

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