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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. vault — a safe
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — of water
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. ground — the earth
  14. sharp — clever
  15. branch — a division
  16. ground — crushed
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. file — a line of people
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ground — a position

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