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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. last — finally
  4. shower — to wash
  5. file — a line of people
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mug — to rob
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. last — to go on
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. shower — rain
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kick — in football
  21. mug — a face
  22. last — final
  23. mug — a cup
  24. file — a document

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