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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. game — a match
  6. spell — magic
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pop — music
  9. bound — tied together
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spell — a short time
  12. race — humankind
  13. game — wild animals
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. race — the arms race
  20. lie — to recline
  21. race — a contest
  22. shower — rain
  23. date — the fruit
  24. spell — letters

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