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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. spell — magic
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — letters
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. branch — a division

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