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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wind — moving air
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — rain
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. drill — army training
  10. fall — to drop
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fall — the season
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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