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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fall — to drop
  3. can — a tin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — the season
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. chest — a box
  9. can — to be able to
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. shower — rain
  13. last — finally
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fall — to drop
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chest — of your body
  19. can — a tin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. swing — music
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — to wash

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