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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — of water
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — rain
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chest — a box
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. last — final
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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