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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. band — a music group
  3. cap — a hat
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. shower — to wash
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pit — a hole
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spring — the season
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. band — a ring
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pit — in a race
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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