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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — help
  9. spring — the season
  10. present — there
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — a gift
  15. capital — money
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — in sport
  19. present — the time now
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. capital — a city
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. net — after costs

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