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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. content — happy
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — in golf
  16. present — the time now
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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