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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bass — the fish
  3. file — a tool
  4. staff — employees
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. spell — letters
  7. staff — employees
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rule — government
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spell — magic
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bass — low music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — a short time
  24. field — farmland

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