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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of law
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — of a king
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — for sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fall — the season
  14. spell — magic
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — rain
  20. spell — letters
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wound — an injury

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