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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. track — a path
  3. prune — to trim
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bass — low music
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. track — a song
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bass — the fish
  19. track — to keep track
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. patient — a sick person

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