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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · stick · key · shower · fall · snap

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fall — the season
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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