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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — to come from
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. tube — the underground
  13. land — to come down
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. shower — to wash
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — to tease
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — ground

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