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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. shower — rain
  4. board — a committee
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. spell — a short time
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. spell — magic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — in music
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spell — letters
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. board — to get on
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wind — moving air

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