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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. court — for sport
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — to wash
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. chair — a leader
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. patient — a sick person

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