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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bound — obliged
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — of water
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — child
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bound — certain
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rest — what's left
  22. drill — a practice
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rest — a break

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