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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. file — a tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a document
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bulb — for light
  13. file — a line of people
  14. track — a song
  15. shower — to wash
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — a measure
  18. hand — help
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. shower — rain
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — in cards

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