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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — in cards
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fall — the season
  6. saw — the tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. staff — employees
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. shower — rain
  14. staff — a stick
  15. hand — help
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. saw — the tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rush — hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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