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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cap — of ice
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — of water
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mug — a cup
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cap — a lid
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mug — a face
  20. spring — the season
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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