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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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Word bank
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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: shower · dip · land · rash · stick · present · mate · pass

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. present — a gift
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. mate — a partner
  7. present — there
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. land — ground
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. land — a country
  15. shower — rain
  16. present — the time now
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rash — a series
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. land — to come down
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. shower — to wash

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