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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. shower — to wash
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. capital — a city
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — a big letter

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