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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. file — a tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. shower — to wash
  5. prune — to trim
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. shower — rain
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rash — a series
  19. file — a document
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a line of people
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — the amount

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