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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tear — from crying
  5. scale — size or range
  6. shower — rain
  7. vault — a safe
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. tear — to rip
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. scale — in music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chip — for betting

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