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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. squash — to crush
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. face — to confront
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. face — to point toward
  17. present — a gift
  18. fall — the season
  19. present — the time now
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pass — a permit
  23. present — there
  24. wind — moving air

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