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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. ground — a position
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. land — to come down
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — ground
  13. mug — a cup
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — the earth
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mug — to rob
  19. land — a country
  20. mug — a face
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ground — crushed
  24. shower — rain

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