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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rash — hasty
  10. shower — rain
  11. chip — for betting
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. last — to go on
  14. club — a group
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for golf
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. last — final
  21. chip — to eat
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — a series
  24. prune — the fruit

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