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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. shower — rain
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — not warm
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — clever

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