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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pop — to visit
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. pop — music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pop — soda
  17. fork — in a road
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rash — a series
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — rain
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wind — moving air

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