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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. file — a tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — in music
  8. shower — rain
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lie — to recline
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — a short time
  13. file — a document
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spell — magic
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ball — a great time
  22. spell — letters
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ball — a dance

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