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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 124 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. spring — of water
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. can — a tin
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. can — to be able to
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. present — a gift
  12. spring — a coil
  13. can — a tin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — the season
  17. present — the time now
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. mouse — the animal

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