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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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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. cold — not warm
  4. rule — a law
  5. season — of the year
  6. game — a match
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. game — wild animals
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rule — government
  17. season — in sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cold — an illness
  24. season — to add flavour

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