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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. row — a line
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rash — a series
  10. row — to paddle
  11. hand — help
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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