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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 124 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mug — a face
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mug — to rob
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fall — the season
  12. shower — rain
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mug — a cup
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hand — in cards
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fall — to drop
  24. hand — help

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