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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. shower — rain
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mine — for digging
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mug — a face
  10. cap — a lid
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — to wash
  17. snap — to click
  18. mug — a cup

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