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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bass — low music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chest — a box
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. shower — rain
  23. chest — of your body
  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