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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. track — a song
  5. shower — rain
  6. hand — in cards
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. snap — to click
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cell — a phone
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. shower — to wash
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fine — all right
  17. squash — to crush
  18. track — to keep track
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. hand — help
  22. track — a path
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bear — the animal

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