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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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 document
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rule — a law
  5. file — a line of people
  6. shower — rain
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — to wash
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — of water
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. game — a match
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. tube — a container
  24. file — a tool

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