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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.

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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: rash · calf · press · file · bat · shower · sharp · bear

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a document
  4. shower — rain
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bat — the animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. press — to push
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bear — the animal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rash — a series
  19. press — newspapers
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — hasty
  22. sharp — clever
  23. press — a publisher
  24. shower — to wash

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