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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 124 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 the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. present — the time now
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fall — the season
  6. shower — rain
  7. fall — to drop
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. band — a ring
  11. lean — thin
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. present — a gift
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rush — hurry
  20. cold — an illness
  21. present — there
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lean — to bend

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