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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. date — the fruit
  3. staff — a stick
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cell — in biology
  8. court — for sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. season — in sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. staff — employees
  15. suit — in cards
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. court — of law
  18. season — of the year
  19. hand — in cards
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. court — of a king
  22. hand — help
  23. cell — a phone
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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