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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. spring — the season
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hand — in cards
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — a position
  12. spring — of water
  13. squash — the sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. ground — crushed

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