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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. hand — help
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. key — for a lock
  5. shower — rain
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. face — to confront
  10. key — in music
  11. net — in sport
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kid — to tease
  14. net — after costs
  15. key — the most important part
  16. face — to point toward
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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