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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. band — a ring
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. land — to come down
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. land — ground
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. band — a music group
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. squash — to crush
  22. land — a country
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rest — what's left

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