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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spring — the season
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — of water
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. march — music
  8. current — happening now
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wound — an injury
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. current — electric
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — rain
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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