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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rule — a law
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rule — government
  6. mark — a trace
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — rain
  9. hand — in cards
  10. last — final
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. shower — to wash
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. hand — help
  18. mark — a grade

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