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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. snap — to click
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. shower — rain
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. current — electric
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitch — completely
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. wound — an injury

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