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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — rain
  4. file — a line of people
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — to tease
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — in music
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to click
  18. staff — a stick
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tear — to rip
  21. key — the most important part
  22. shower — to wash
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. key — for a lock

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