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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: racket · wound · straw · fork · mouse · shower · spring · deal

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spring — of water
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. shower — rain
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spring — the season
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — in a road
  23. shower — to wash
  24. straw — dry grass

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