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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — rain
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rock — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bass — the fish
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. shower — to wash
  24. hand — in cards

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