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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: bat · wound · shower · ruler · cue · content · wind · dip

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — rain
  9. cue — a hint
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bat — the animal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cue — for pool
  22. content — happy
  23. cue — a signal
  24. dip — to sink

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