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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a friend
  3. club — for golf
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. drill — a practice
  6. club — for dancing
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. shower — rain
  16. mate — a partner
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. club — a group
  23. chest — a box
  24. drill — army training

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