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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — rain
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — a box
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chip — to eat
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bore — to tire
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bear — to put up with

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