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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spell — magic
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — an amount
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rule — government
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rule — a law
  15. spell — letters
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pit — a hole
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wound — an injury

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