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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. shower — rain
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — government
  7. bass — the fish
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rule — a law
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — low music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rule — to rule out
  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