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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. bound — tied together
  3. cell — a phone
  4. game — a match
  5. firm — decided
  6. bulb — for light
  7. firm — steady
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cell — in biology
  10. shower — to wash
  11. clip — a video
  12. bound — obliged
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — certain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — moving air
  22. firm — a company
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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