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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. row — a line
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. rock — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. capital — a city
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — to fit
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. snap — to click
  18. row — to paddle
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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