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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: pitcher · shower · bat · straw · foot · mate · cell · lean

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bat — the animal
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cell — in biology
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lean — to bend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. foot — a measure
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mate — a partner
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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