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

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wake — a trail
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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