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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bat — the animal
  4. shower — rain
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — ground
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — a country

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