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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — rain
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spring — of water
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cell — a phone

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