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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 116 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. file — a line of people
  3. land — ground
  4. last — final
  5. cue — a hint
  6. last — finally
  7. squash — to crush
  8. file — a document
  9. mug — a face
  10. squash — the sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mug — a cup
  13. last — to go on
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. land — a country
  18. shower — rain
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. hand — help
  21. mug — to rob
  22. land — to come down
  23. file — a tool
  24. cue — for pool

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