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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — to rip
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. shower — to wash
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chip — to eat
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. chip — for betting

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