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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — a contest
  10. squash — to crush
  11. present — a gift
  12. rock — music
  13. race — humankind
  14. scale — in music
  15. present — there
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. shower — rain
  19. present — the time now
  20. rock — a stone
  21. race — the arms race
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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