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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. court — of law
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hand — help
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. capital — a city
  12. deal — to handle
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. court — of a king
  18. can — a tin
  19. capital — money
  20. file — a tool
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. hand — in cards
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — for sport

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