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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. firm — decided
  6. cue — a hint
  7. firm — steady
  8. cue — for pool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — the animal
  11. firm — a company
  12. fork — in a road
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. season — in sport
  19. cue — a signal
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. season — of the year
  24. shower — rain

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