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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. march — the month
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rush — hurry
  14. march — music
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. march — the month
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. shower — rain
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bat — the animal
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. plane — in geometry

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