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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in biology
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. current — electric
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. spell — magic
  12. shower — rain
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spell — a short time
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cell — a phone
  20. current — happening now
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. current — of water

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