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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. land — to come down
  3. cold — an illness
  4. suit — clothes
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — a country
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. chest — a box
  10. drill — army training
  11. stand — to bear
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — in cards
  14. object — a thing
  15. land — ground
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — rain
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cold — not warm
  24. drill — a practice

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