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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. last — final
  5. shower — to wash
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. last — to go on
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. shower — rain
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a music group
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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