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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cap — a lid
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — employees
  6. field — a subject
  7. can — a tin
  8. staff — employees
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. shower — rain
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. can — a tin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — a hat
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. drill — the tool
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cap — of ice

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