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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spring — of water
  5. drill — the tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spring — the season
  8. board — to get on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. swing — to play on
  13. date — the fruit
  14. board — a committee
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — a practice
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. swing — in golf
  22. dip — to sink
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — music

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