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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rule — a law
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. shower — rain
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cap — of ice
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — in cards
  22. craft — boats
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cap — a hat

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