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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. hand — help
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bulb — for light
  11. season — of the year
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rash — a series
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. game — a match
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — hasty
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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