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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. shower — rain
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pitch — completely
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kick — in football
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. safe — out of danger

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