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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 124 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — of ice
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — music
  9. kick — in football
  10. squash — the sport
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cap — a hat
  15. march — the month
  16. lean — to bend
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cap — a lid
  21. shower — rain
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — to crush
  24. club — for golf

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