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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. file — a tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. saw — the tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chip — for betting
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chip — to eat
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. file — a document
  16. wake — a trail
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. row — a line
  20. land — ground
  21. file — a line of people
  22. snap — to click
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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