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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: mark · stand · cell · straw · chest · drill · shower · club

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chest — a box
  7. drill — army training
  8. mark — a trace
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — rain
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. mark — a grade
  22. club — a group
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. club — for golf

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