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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: mine · file · shower · cap · mark · chest · suit · perch

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a document
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. suit — in cards
  12. chest — a box
  13. perch — the fish
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mark — a trace
  18. shower — rain
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — to fit
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cap — a lid

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