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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — certain
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cold — not warm
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cold — an illness

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