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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bear — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. file — a document
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a tool
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. shower — to wash
  12. season — of the year
  13. cell — a phone
  14. club — a group
  15. season — in sport
  16. cell — in biology
  17. file — a line of people
  18. shower — rain
  19. club — for golf
  20. field — farmland
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. field — a subject
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. hide — animal skin

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