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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a face
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. swing — to play on
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — in golf
  16. perch — the fish
  17. swing — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — an amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mug — a cup
  24. tear — to rip

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