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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · race · file · leaves · present · cap · shower · ball

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hand — help
  8. present — a gift
  9. file — a document
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cap — a hat
  12. file — a line of people
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cap — of ice
  15. hand — in cards
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. shower — rain
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cap — a lid
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — humankind
  24. present — there

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