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

Word bank: shower · club · drill · safe · snap · cue · key · ground

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. club — for golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ground — the earth
  6. shower — to wash
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. snap — to click
  9. ground — crushed
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. club — a group
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cue — a signal
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. key — the most important part
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — a position
  18. drill — the tool
  19. key — in music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. drill — army training

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