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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. content — the amount
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rash — a series
  13. rock — music
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stem — to come from
  21. content — happy
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. content — videos and posts

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