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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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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 · present · fork · kick · file · rule · hide · object

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. object — to protest
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fork — in a road
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. file — a document
  13. shower — rain
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. present — the time now
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — there
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rule — a law
  20. object — a thing
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rule — government
  24. object — an aim

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