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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. kid — child
  6. land — ground
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — rain
  9. track — a path
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. track — to keep track
  12. land — to come down
  13. tube — a container
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. tube — the underground
  21. kid — to tease
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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