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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bound — certain
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bound — tied together
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. stock — shares
  13. ground — a position
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stock — goods
  24. cold — the Cold War

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