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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a match
  4. bound — tied together
  5. shower — rain
  6. branch — a division
  7. row — to paddle
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. spring — the season
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. shower — to wash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bound — obliged
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bound — certain
  23. spring — of water
  24. row — a line

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