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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mate — a friend
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spring — the season
  10. wound — an injury
  11. drill — the tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mine — for digging
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. drill — army training
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. spring — of water
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mine — an explosive

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