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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spring — the season
  3. current — electric
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chest — a box
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. current — of water
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. current — happening now
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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