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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. spell — a short time
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spell — letters
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. swing — to play on
  9. board — a committee
  10. swing — in golf
  11. shower — rain
  12. bat — the animal
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. board — to get on
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. spell — magic
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — to wash
  22. swing — music
  23. stock — shares
  24. bat — in an idiom

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