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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. saw — the tool
  5. can — a tin
  6. chest — a box
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. lean — thin
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. shower — rain
  24. row — a line

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