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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: shower · spell · pit · leaves · sharp · file · wind · bulb

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. file — a line of people
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. spell — letters
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bulb — for light
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — rain
  11. spell — a short time
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spell — magic
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. sharp — clever
  19. file — a document
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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