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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. spring — a coil
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. file — a line of people
  16. spring — of water
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — the season
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. ground — the earth

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