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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. object — to protest
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mug — to rob
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. drill — a practice
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. drill — the tool
  16. object — a thing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — help
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — moving air
  24. object — an aim

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