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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chip — for betting
  13. shower — rain
  14. capital — a city
  15. chip — to eat
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — to wash
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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