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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mark — a trace
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. scale — size or range
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. board — a committee
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bat — the animal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mark — a grade
  20. can — a tin
  21. shower — rain
  22. can — to be able to
  23. race — the arms race
  24. can — a tin

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