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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kid — child
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. club — a group
  10. shower — rain
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. club — for golf
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — to tease
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. nail — on a finger

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