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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — to wash
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. mine — for digging
  12. sharp — clever
  13. shower — rain
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cap — a hat
  16. content — happy
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — a lid

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