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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spell — a short time
  3. snap — to click
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bass — low music
  6. rest — a break
  7. spell — magic
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rush — hurry
  11. race — humankind
  12. saw — the tool
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — a contest
  16. spell — letters
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bass — the fish
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rest — what's left

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