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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pit — a hole
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. row — a line
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chip — for betting
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. shower — rain
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. drill — army training
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chip — to eat

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