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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — a country
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. shower — rain
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — ground
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fall — the season
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — to come down
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. present — there
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fall — to drop

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