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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. plane — a tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a line of people
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. plane — in geometry

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