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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ground — a position
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. file — a document
  9. ground — crushed
  10. key — the most important part
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kick — in football
  17. key — in music
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. file — a line of people

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