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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. kick — in football
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. shower — to wash
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. shower — rain
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. saw — the tool
  22. track — a path
  23. game — a match
  24. bear — the animal

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