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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rule — government
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — a practice
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rush — hurry
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. shower — rain
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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