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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — the amount
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. content — happy
  12. shower — rain
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — a committee
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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