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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. shower — rain
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. drill — army training
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rock — a stone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. roll — a list
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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