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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. kick — in football
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cap — a hat
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rush — hurry
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chip — for betting
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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