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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. land — to come down
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hand — help
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. hand — in cards
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. land — ground
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. craft — boats
  20. shower — rain
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. land — a country
  24. content — videos and posts

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