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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — the season
  9. charge — a price
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stem — to come from
  19. shower — to wash
  20. spring — a coil
  21. charge — in control
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. charge — electricity
  24. stem — of a plant

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