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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chest — a box
  8. squash — to crush
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. firm — a company
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. content — the amount
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. firm — decided
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. firm — steady
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. squash — the sport
  21. content — happy
  22. chest — of your body
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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