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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · date · tear · roll · shower · cell · key · file

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cell — a phone
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a document
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. key — in music
  10. tear — to rip
  11. key — the most important part
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cell — in biology
  14. date — the fruit
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a tool
  17. cue — for pool
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. roll — a cake
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. file — a line of people

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