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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. shower — to wash
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. row — a line
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. row — to paddle
  14. file — a tool
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. shower — rain

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