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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. shower — rain
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chest — of your body
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. root — of a word
  10. bass — low music
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bass — the fish
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. straw — dry grass

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