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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — rain
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kid — child
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. shower — to wash

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