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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — a video
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. saw — the tool
  12. staff — a stick
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. saw — the tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. roll — a cake
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — a list
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. shower — to wash

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