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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rule — government
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kid — child
  18. bound — obliged
  19. capital — a city
  20. shower — rain
  21. capital — money
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bound — tied together
  24. rush — hurry

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