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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. club — a group
  5. rule — government
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. club — for dancing
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rule — a law
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. shower — rain
  14. chest — a box
  15. club — for golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. nail — for a hammer

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