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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. tube — the underground
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chest — of your body
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. chest — a box
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — to come from
  19. shower — to wash
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. season — in sport
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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