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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. tube — a container
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. kick — in football
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — to breed
  14. shower — to wash
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mate — a friend
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tube — in a tire

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