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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ground — crushed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. fall — the season
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — a position
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a leader
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. clip — to cut

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