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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: pop · chest · mark · rule · roll · shower · dip · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chest — a box
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rule — a law
  5. shower — rain
  6. roll — a list
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — music
  11. roll — a cake
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. shower — to wash
  19. dip — to sink
  20. pop — to visit
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mark — a trace

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