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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — a lid
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bass — low music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cap — a hat
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. shower — rain
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ground — a position

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