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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. present — a gift
  5. cap — a hat
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rule — government
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fall — to drop
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rule — a law
  13. fall — to drop
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — rain
  19. fall — the season
  20. cap — a lid
  21. land — a country
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cap — of ice
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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