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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. date — the fruit
  9. land — to come down
  10. shower — to wash
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. land — ground
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. land — a country
  18. stand — to bear
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hand — part of the body

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