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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — rain
  4. fine — all right
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pit — in a race
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pit — a hole
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fine — high quality
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chest — a box
  21. shower — to wash
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. hide — to keep secret

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