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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. game — wild animals
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. file — a document
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. key — in music
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. file — a tool
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — a match
  14. tube — a container
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mark — a grade
  17. board — a committee
  18. mark — a trace
  19. shower — rain
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. file — a line of people
  22. board — to get on
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. shower — to wash

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