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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. wake — a trail
  11. charge — in control
  12. lean — to bend
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — a price
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lean — thin
  24. straw — a straw man

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