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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stand — to bear
  3. net — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. net — after costs
  8. current — of water
  9. shower — rain
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. current — electric
  15. cue — for pool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. net — for catching
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. current — happening now
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cold — not warm

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