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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. shower — rain
  7. can — a tin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — a practice
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. drill — the tool
  14. hand — help
  15. drill — army training
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. can — a tin
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. race — a contest
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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