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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — what's left
  3. band — a music group
  4. ground — the earth
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rest — a break
  7. season — of the year
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ground — a position
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — crushed
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. shower — rain
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. season — in sport
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a ring
  24. chair — a professorship

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