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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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. suit — in cards
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. track — a song
  9. shower — to wash
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. suit — to fit
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ground — a position
  14. track — to keep track
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. ground — the earth
  22. suit — clothes
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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