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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. drill — the tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. drill — a practice
  8. shower — rain
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. row — to paddle
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — a container
  21. drill — army training
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tube — the underground
  24. row — a line

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