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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. content — the amount
  3. season — in sport
  4. spring — the season
  5. season — of the year
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. row — to paddle
  13. content — happy
  14. charge — a price
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. vault — a safe
  21. shower — to wash
  22. charge — electricity
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. charge — in control

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