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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — the season
  9. cap — a hat
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a match
  12. cap — of ice
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cap — a lid
  17. shower — to wash
  18. can — to be able to
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. can — a tin
  21. hand — help
  22. rest — a break
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fall — to drop

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