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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. file — a document
  2. row — a line
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. track — to keep track
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. track — a path
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bass — low music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. saw — the tool
  13. swing — in golf
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — a song
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. swing — to play on
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. file — a tool
  20. swing — music
  21. bass — the fish
  22. file — a line of people
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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