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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rest — a break
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. snap — to click
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — rain
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. root — of a plant
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. root — of a word
  18. rest — what's left
  19. scale — size or range
  20. sharp — clever
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. rest — what's left
  23. root — the cause
  24. sharp — exactly

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