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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. file — a document
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chip — for betting
  7. object — to protest
  8. root — of a word
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. object — an aim
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. file — a tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. object — a thing
  16. drill — army training
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chip — to eat
  19. shower — to wash
  20. file — a line of people
  21. root — the cause
  22. shower — rain
  23. mate — to breed
  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