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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. date — on the calendar
  3. bear — the animal
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. date — the fruit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — help
  14. fine — all right
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cell — a phone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. fine — high quality
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. cell — in biology
  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