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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 116 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. bass — low music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. lean — thin
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ground — the earth
  12. net — for catching
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rash — a series
  21. rock — music
  22. lean — to bend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rash — on the skin

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