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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. sharp — clever
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. capital — a city
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. capital — money
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. pitch — completely
  20. foot — a measure
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. date — the fruit
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. date — on the calendar

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