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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — in music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. ground — a position
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — an illness
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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