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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bear — the animal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. last — final
  10. pop — soda
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pop — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. bear — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. bear — to put up with

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