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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. hand — help
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stock — shares
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stock — goods
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bulb — for light
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bulb — for light
  24. squash — to crush

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