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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. file — a tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — army training
  7. rest — what's left
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — farmland
  10. file — a document
  11. rest — what's left
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — rain
  14. drill — the tool
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — for sport
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rest — a break
  24. drill — a practice

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