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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 116 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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mine — for digging
  3. game — a match
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — a contest
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rock — a stone
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. game — wild animals
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hand — in cards
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. hand — help

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