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

Word bank: chair · mate · ruler · straw · bowl · shower

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — a partner
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. mate — to breed
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mate — a friend
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — a straw man

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