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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mug — a cup
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. current — of water
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mug — to rob
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. swing — music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. row — to paddle
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. mug — a face
  18. current — happening now
  19. tear — from crying
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — to rip
  24. row — a line

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