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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — rain
  6. stock — shares
  7. drill — a practice
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. hand — help
  12. drill — the tool
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. mug — to rob
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. mug — a cup
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. stock — goods
  23. drill — army training
  24. mug — a face

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