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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. track — a song
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cue — a hint
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. track — a path
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cue — for pool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cue — a signal
  24. trunk — of a car

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