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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. land — to come down
  3. mark — a trace
  4. shower — to wash
  5. land — ground
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. land — a country
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rule — a law
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rule — government

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