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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. march — music
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — to bend
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pit — a hole
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — a container
  14. file — a tool
  15. tube — the underground
  16. squash — to crush
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — an amount
  20. shower — rain
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pit — in a race

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