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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: club · bay · shower · mouse · snap · pitch · rule · chest

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — a law
  4. snap — to click
  5. pitch — completely
  6. shower — rain
  7. club — a group
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rule — government
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chest — a box
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chest — of your body
  20. club — for dancing
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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