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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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Word bank
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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: chip · file · bear · roll · bat · tear · lean · shower

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bat — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bear — the animal
  8. file — a document
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. roll — a cake
  12. lean — thin
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a tool
  16. roll — a list
  17. lean — to bend
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. shower — rain
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bat — for baseball

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