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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. shower — rain
  3. pop — soda
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pop — music
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pop — to visit
  16. snap — to click
  17. roll — a cake
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. lean — to bend
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. plane — a tool
  24. kid — to tease

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