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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. perch — the fish
  8. shower — rain
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rash — a series
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hide — to keep secret

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