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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rock — music
  7. shower — rain
  8. dip — to sink
  9. land — a country
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. land — ground
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — an illness
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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