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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. net — for catching
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. saw — the tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. stand — to bear
  9. face — to point toward
  10. saw — the tool
  11. face — to confront
  12. net — after costs
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. date — the fruit
  16. band — a music group
  17. shower — to wash
  18. face — part of the head
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. shower — rain
  24. date — on the calendar

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