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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. safe — out of danger
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. track — a path
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. track — to keep track
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. track — a song
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — letters
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. file — a tool
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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