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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. kid — child
  3. spell — letters
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. spell — magic
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. present — there
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. rule — a law
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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