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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kick — in football
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. shower — rain
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. drill — army training
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bulb — for light
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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