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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — rain
  10. mate — a partner
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. mate — to breed
  13. drill — the tool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. drill — army training
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — a practice
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. shower — to wash

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