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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — a country
  7. cap — a hat
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bass — the fish
  10. drill — army training
  11. saw — the tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. land — ground
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. drill — the tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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