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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pit — in a race
  5. drill — army training
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hand — help
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. rash — a series
  16. chest — a box
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — rain
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rash — hasty

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