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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — a break
  3. shower — rain
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. file — a line of people
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — finally
  14. fall — to drop
  15. last — to go on
  16. file — a document
  17. drill — army training
  18. file — a tool
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fall — the season
  21. last — final
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the 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