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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. staff — employees
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — not warm
  18. shower — rain
  19. bass — the fish
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. cold — an illness
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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