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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kid — child
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spell — magic
  22. row — a line
  23. spell — letters
  24. pitcher — a jug

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