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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mug — a cup
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. present — there
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — the time now
  21. mug — a face
  22. shower — rain
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. nail — for a hammer

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