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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. row — a line
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — to fit
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. row — to paddle
  9. squash — the sport
  10. shower — to wash
  11. squash — to crush
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ground — a position
  14. suit — clothes
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kick — in football

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