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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. club — a group
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rash — hasty
  7. net — after costs
  8. chest — of your body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. net — for catching
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — to trim
  15. net — in sport
  16. shower — rain
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — of your body
  19. club — for golf
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — a series
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. prune — the fruit

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