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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — final
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — finally
  7. track — to keep track
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. track — a path
  10. race — humankind
  11. charge — a price
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — a contest
  14. charge — electricity
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pit — in a race
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. track — a song
  20. race — the arms race
  21. charge — in control
  22. file — a tool
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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