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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. file — a document
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spell — magic
  7. mark — a trace
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. season — of the year
  14. pop — to visit
  15. season — in sport
  16. file — a tool
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. spell — a short time
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mark — a grade

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