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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — not warm
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cold — an illness
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. deal — to handle

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