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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — rain
  3. club — a group
  4. season — of the year
  5. hand — help
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. club — for dancing
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. shower — to wash
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cue — for pool
  16. craft — boats
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — a position
  20. club — for golf
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. season — in sport
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — the earth

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