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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. can — a tin
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. can — to be able to
  8. rule — government
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. can — a tin
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. snap — to click
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — completely
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. shower — rain

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