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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. tube — the underground
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. shower — rain
  7. tube — a container
  8. drill — army training
  9. can — a tin
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. season — of the year
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. season — in sport
  17. drill — a practice
  18. snap — to click
  19. drill — the tool
  20. can — to be able to
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pitch — completely
  23. can — a tin
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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