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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fall — the season
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. last — final
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. court — of law
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — finally
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. court — for sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. shower — rain
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fall — to drop
  23. snap — to click
  24. squash — the sport

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