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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. key — in music
  6. shower — rain
  7. drill — a practice
  8. court — for sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. land — a country
  12. court — of law
  13. land — to come down
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. drill — the tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. key — the most important part
  19. land — ground
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. drill — army training
  23. key — for a lock
  24. mouse — the animal

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