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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. kick — in football
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. current — electric
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — rain
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — to drop
  20. current — happening now
  21. spell — letters
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spell — a short time
  24. current — of water

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