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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — in biology
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. kid — child
  10. court — of law
  11. cell — a phone
  12. race — humankind
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. race — a contest
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fall — the season
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — of a king
  23. kid — to tease
  24. court — for sport

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