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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pound — a weight
  13. file — a tool
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. scale — in music
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. scale — size or range
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fan — a supporter

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