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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rule — government
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rule — a law
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bass — the fish
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. squash — to crush
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — a line
  17. bass — low music
  18. court — of law
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. row — to paddle
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. shower — rain

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