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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. firm — decided
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chip — for betting
  17. firm — steady
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kid — child
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mine — for digging
  24. firm — a company

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