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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tube — a container
  10. content — happy
  11. stock — shares
  12. kid — to tease
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kid — child
  15. content — the amount
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tube — the underground
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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