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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 · sharp · rule · root · game · file · row · mark

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. rule — government
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mark — a trace
  10. root — of a word
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. root — the cause
  14. file — a tool
  15. sharp — clever
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. file — a line of people
  19. game — wild animals
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. row — a line
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. root — of a plant

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