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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bound — obliged
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — rain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. fine — all right
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bound — certain
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bat — for baseball

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