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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 124 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — child
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mug — to rob
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. season — in sport
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. mug — a cup
  16. season — of the year
  17. mug — a face
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. branch — a division
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. shower — rain

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