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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. saw — the tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — of water
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spell — magic
  11. content — the amount
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — a contest
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. staff — employees
  16. race — the arms race
  17. content — happy
  18. spell — letters
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. staff — a stick
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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