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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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Word bank
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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rest — a break
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. shower — rain
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. snap — to click
  23. chest — a box
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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