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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. shower — rain
  5. net — for catching
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. rock — music
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. net — after costs
  11. stock — goods
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stock — shares
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. net — in sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rash — a series
  19. board — a committee
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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