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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — a practice
  5. can — to be able to
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lie — to recline
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — not warm
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. shower — rain
  20. wind — moving air
  21. can — a tin
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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