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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. rush — hurry
  6. race — a contest
  7. shower — rain
  8. chest — of your body
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. spell — magic
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. file — a line of people
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. chest — a box
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. file — a tool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. spell — letters
  22. file — a document
  23. race — humankind
  24. shower — to wash

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