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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. present — there
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. shower — rain
  5. season — in sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. season — of the year
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — to drop
  11. present — the time now
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fall — the season
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fall — to drop
  16. present — a gift
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. straw — a straw man

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