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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mug — a face
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. rash — hasty
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pitcher — a jug

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