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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. club — for dancing
  3. ground — a position
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fork — in a road
  9. club — for golf
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cap — a hat
  14. race — a contest
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. race — humankind
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. club — a group
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. ground — the earth
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cap — a lid

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