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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  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 — rain
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bore — to tire
  4. net — in sport
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. land — a country
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. net — for catching
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. net — after costs
  19. bore — to drill
  20. file — a document
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ruler — for measuring
  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