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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kid — to tease
  3. can — a tin
  4. pop — to visit
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kid — child
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pop — music
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. can — a tin
  21. pop — soda
  22. can — to be able to
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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