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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. court — for sport
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rule — a law
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. root — the cause
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. craft — boats
  19. rule — government
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. craft — a skill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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