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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. race — humankind
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. object — to protest
  19. rest — what's left
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. key — in music
  23. rest — a break
  24. shower — rain

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