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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — rain
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. net — in sport
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. march — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. net — for catching
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bowl — a dish

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