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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spring — a coil
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fall — the season
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — the season
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — of water
  21. shower — rain
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — dry grass

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