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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fine — high quality
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fine — all right
  15. bore — to drill
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. roll — a list
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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