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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pitch — completely
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. shower — rain
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — to paddle
  21. shower — to wash
  22. lie — to recline
  23. club — a group
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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