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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. present — there
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — rain
  6. present — the time now
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. season — of the year
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. race — a contest
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. hand — help
  18. season — in sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. present — a gift
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. squash — the sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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