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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. shower — rain
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rash — hasty
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — the sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. present — there
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. squash — to crush
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spring — of water
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. rash — a series
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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