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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. court — of law
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mark — a trace
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. court — of a king
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. court — for sport
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. snap — to click
  23. mark — a grade
  24. cold — an illness

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