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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: bay · shower · perch · straw · swing · net · chip · mine

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chip — for betting
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — music
  7. shower — rain
  8. net — for catching
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — after costs
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. swing — to play on
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. net — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. perch — for a bird

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