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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pitch — completely
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rush — hurry
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. shower — rain
  16. drill — army training
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. drill — a practice
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. hand — help

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