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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: shower · rest · roll · hand · chair · can · bay · pop

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. hand — help
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pop — soda
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. roll — a list
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. pop — music
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. can — a tin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. shower — rain
  17. rest — a break
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — to visit
  20. can — a tin
  21. rest — what's left
  22. roll — a cake
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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