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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fine — all right
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. hand — in cards
  6. firm — decided
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hand — help
  14. mine — for digging
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fine — high quality
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. shower — rain

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