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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. last — finally
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — to go on
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. shower — to wash
  21. last — final
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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