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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. file — a tool
  3. shower — rain
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rule — a law
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — government
  9. perch — the fish
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bulb — for light
  13. club — for dancing
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. club — a group
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bulb — for light
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. lean — thin
  23. club — for golf
  24. cell — in biology

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