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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — the arms race
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. board — to get on
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. race — a contest
  14. row — a line
  15. board — a committee
  16. swing — to play on
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. race — humankind
  24. shower — to wash

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