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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mate — a partner
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — an injury
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — rain
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — to bear
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mate — a friend
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. plane — a tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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