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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — to visit
  5. shower — rain
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pit — in a race
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fall — the season
  11. pit — a hole
  12. dip — to sink
  13. pop — soda
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pop — music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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