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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. staff — employees
  4. march — music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. squash — the sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. march — the month
  14. stem — to come from
  15. march — the month
  16. staff — employees
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — to wash
  20. squash — to crush
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. club — a group
  24. chest — of your body

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