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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wax — to grow

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