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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cap — a lid
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. key — for a lock
  8. kick — in football
  9. spring — the season
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spring — of water
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. key — in music
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pitch — completely
  20. shower — rain
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. key — the most important part

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