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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — a lid
  4. scale — in music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kick — in football
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. shower — to wash
  16. branch — a division
  17. cue — for pool
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — a hint
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — of a tree

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