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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — government
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. kid — to tease
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rule — a law
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pit — a hole
  14. shower — rain
  15. kid — child
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. pit — in a race
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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