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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. shower — rain
  5. track — to keep track
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. race — a contest
  11. ground — a position
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. race — humankind
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ground — the earth
  16. track — a path
  17. race — the arms race
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. track — a song
  20. ground — crushed
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. wake — a trail
  23. snap — to click
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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