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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. season — of the year
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cue — for pool
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cue — a signal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cue — a hint
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — in sport

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