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

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. plane — a tool
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. date — the fruit

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