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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. mine — for digging
  11. row — to paddle
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. spell — a short time
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pitch — completely
  23. date — the fruit
  24. jam — in traffic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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