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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a tool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fine — high quality
  6. file — a document
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rash — a series
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. file — a line of people
  19. current — happening now
  20. mark — a grade
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chest — a box
  23. fine — all right
  24. mark — to pay attention

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