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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. land — a country
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lie — to recline
  10. land — ground
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. board — to get on
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — to wash
  17. swing — to play on
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kick — in football
  21. swing — music
  22. board — a committee
  23. shower — rain
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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