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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — rain
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hand — help
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bore — to tire
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. band — a music group
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — to wash
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bat — the animal

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