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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitch — completely
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — rain
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. last — to go on
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — final
  12. game — a match
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — an aim
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cell — a phone
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cell — in biology
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — finally
  24. object — a thing

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