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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rock — music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. track — to keep track
  12. row — a line
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. track — a path
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. track — a song
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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