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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 116 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. hand — in cards
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. shower — to wash
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. plane — a tool
  15. row — a line
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. hand — help
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pit — in a race
  24. plane — in geometry

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