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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. land — a country
  3. shower — rain
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — to come down
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. land — ground
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — to wash
  11. band — a music group
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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