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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. shower — rain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cue — a hint
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cue — a signal
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bound — certain
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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