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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · march · bear · straw · content · can · shower · kid

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. can — a tin
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. content — happy
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. can — to be able to
  9. shower — to wash
  10. can — a tin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — rain
  16. march — the month
  17. bear — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. march — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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