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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kick — in football
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mug — a face
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — the animal
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. drill — a practice

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