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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — the earth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. drill — a practice
  11. lie — to recline
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. kid — child
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. drill — army training
  24. shower — to wash

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