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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cue — a hint
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. net — after costs
  9. fall — the season
  10. mine — for digging
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cue — a signal
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fall — to drop
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a line of people
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. bulb — of a plant

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