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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cell — in biology
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. march — music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — rain
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — a phone
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. net — after costs
  16. spring — of water
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. spring — the season
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. march — the month

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