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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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Word bank
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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 · spell · bay · kid · game · wound · object · shower

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. kid — to tease
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. object — to protest
  14. spell — letters
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. object — a thing
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. shower — rain
  21. object — an aim
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — a match
  24. kid — child

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