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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kick — in football
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. land — a country
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fall — the season
  16. scale — in music
  17. land — ground
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cap — a lid
  20. shower — rain
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — to come down
  24. cap — of ice

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