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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. shower — rain
  3. scale — size or range
  4. last — final
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. last — to go on
  8. kid — child
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. scale — in music
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. drill — the tool
  14. current — electric
  15. drill — a practice
  16. kid — to tease
  17. current — of water
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — to wash
  20. current — happening now
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. wake — a trail
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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