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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spell — magic
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spell — letters
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. shower — to wash
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. fall — to drop
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — the season
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — the underground
  24. stem — of a plant

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