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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 124 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kid — to tease
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — to wash
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. rule — government
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fall — to drop
  12. sharp — clever
  13. shower — rain
  14. rule — a law
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. game — a match
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fall — to drop
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. game — wild animals
  24. lash — an eyelash

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