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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rash — hasty
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — humankind
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to bend
  15. perch — the fish
  16. race — a contest
  17. staff — employees
  18. rash — a series
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. perch — for a bird

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