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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. hand — help
  7. root — of a word
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mug — a face
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — rain
  14. race — the arms race
  15. club — a group
  16. race — humankind
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. race — a contest
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a cup
  22. root — the cause
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wind — to turn a key

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