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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cue — for pool
  4. spring — the season
  5. lean — thin
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cue — a hint
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pop — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cue — a signal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spring — of water
  24. pop — soda

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