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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. hand — in cards
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. shower — rain
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. hand — help
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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