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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. shower — rain
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. craft — a skill
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kick — in football
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cell — a phone
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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