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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fine — all right
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a line of people
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. root — of a word
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — rain
  18. fine — high quality
  19. root — of a plant
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cell — a phone
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a document
  24. patient — a sick person

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