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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — rain
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mug — a face
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cell — a phone
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mug — to rob
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mug — a cup

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