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

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fine — all right
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fall — the season
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. shower — to wash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lean — thin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. shower — rain
  18. straw — dry grass

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