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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. content — happy
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rule — a law
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rule — government
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wound — an injury

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