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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 116 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pit — in a race
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. plane — a tool
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. band — a music group
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — to wash
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. shower — rain

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