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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rule — a law
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rule — government
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. shower — rain
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chest — of your body

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