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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. shower — to wash
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. drill — army training
  12. shower — rain
  13. band — a music group
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. drill — a practice
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. sharp — clever
  23. band — a ring
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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