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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · firm · shower · bat · deal · rule

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rule — government
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rule — a law
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. firm — decided
  16. chest — a box
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chest — of your body

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