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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. dip — to sink
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the fish
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. hand — help
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. shower — rain
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kick — in football
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. shower — to wash

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