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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — a committee
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. board — to get on
  8. chest — a box
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cap — a hat
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chest — of your body
  14. shower — rain
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. wake — a trail

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