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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cue — a signal
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. vault — a safe
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. hand — help
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cue — a hint
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cue — for pool
  24. sharp — exactly

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