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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. shower — to wash
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. root — of a plant
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitch — completely
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. game — a match
  21. root — the cause
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. root — of a word
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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