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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kid — child
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. rash — hasty
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — music
  13. rash — a series
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rock — a stone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — to tease
  24. squash — to crush

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