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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. last — to go on
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — for betting
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. court — of law
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. last — final
  24. chip — to eat

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