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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. file — a tool
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bulb — for light
  10. saw — the tool
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pop — music
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. board — to get on
  18. file — a document
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. court — of a king
  21. pop — soda
  22. bulb — for light
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a line of people

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