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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. last — finally
  4. shower — rain
  5. chip — to eat
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. last — final
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chip — for betting
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. last — to go on
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. scale — in music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. root — of a word

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